Articles

SSE and innogy's plan to exit UK retail electricity and gas supply by combining their retail operations into a new separate business suggests that political and regulatory uncertainty, and growing competition have made the market less attractive for existing operators, Fitch Ratings says. The transaction, which does not have an immediate ratings

Following Catalonia's unilateral declaration of independence on October 27, Madrid will act to limit the region's autonomy. While Madrid has tentatively scheduled regional elections for December 21, attempts to prevent independence will heighten the risk of social unrest and civil disobedience. Ultimately, we continue to see secession as an

BMI View: Turkey's relations with Qatar will continue to deepen over the years ahead, as the two countries are drawn closer together by aligning foreign and security policies, and opportunities for trade and investment. The Erdogan administration will look to maintain cordial ties with other GCC authorities in order to facilitate exports to the

We remain broadly positive on Egypt's construction sector in the short-to-medium term, as improving investor sentiment on the back of the country's 2016 IMF deal dovetails with prudent government policy incentivising large-scale infrastructure development centred upon the Suez Canal.

In line with our view, the Suez Canal continues to function as a

Sky has launched a streaming service outside its core footprint in Europe, for the first time. Targeting Spain, following Netflix and HBO, is interesting, but we believe the structure of the market, moving towards a high level of convergence, will mean Sky will have a limited customer base to address.

Sky has launched a stand-alone streaming

The expansive infrastructure investment plans of the smaller emirates of the UAE - Sharjah, Fujeirah, and Ras Al Khaimah - support our positive construction sector growth outlook for the country, though the overwhelming focus of infrastructure development will remain centred in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Our positive view of the United Arab Emirates'

In our mid-year review of 2017's industry trends we can clearly detect the forces that are having the greatest impact across several industries, from political and trade risks to technological disruption. We separate them into external forces and internal industry trends, a distinction that enables us to trace some common threads between different

BMI View: Guinean bauxite production will witness solid growth over the coming years as a number of new projects come online, prompting an upside revision to the country's bauxite forecasts. Ongoing political instability and US sanctions on producer Rusal will, however, pose key downside risks ahead.

Guinea's bauxite production grew by almost 50%

An ongoing political crisis in Guatemala will lead to increasing social unrest in the coming quarters, testing the country's fragile institutions. Corruption allegations are likely to consume the attention of the congress, slowing policy formation and presenting a headwind to growth.

Political risks in Guatemala will remain elevated in the coming

The arrests of members of the Saudi royal family, current and former ministers and prominent businessmen increase political uncertainty in Saudi Arabia (A+/Stable), Fitch Ratings says. We believe that concentrating power in the hands of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should bolster economic and social reform efforts, but heightens key man risk